


Kept Hidden

by 4thofFive



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-04 00:05:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1760275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4thofFive/pseuds/4thofFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny is arrested for murder but seems unwilling to provide an alibi.</p>
<p>Another one of my oldies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kept Hidden

“9-1-1 what is your emergency?”

“It’s…oh my god there’s a woman, I think she’s dead. She’s all covered in blood!”

“Where is the woman sir?”

“She’s lying just inside an apartment at 245 Hanaloa Street, a-apartment 301. The door is open and…oh god it’s so terrible.”

“Help is on the way sir, please try to calm down. Can you tell if she’s alive or not?”

“I can’t…she’s in the apartment and I’m too afraid to go in.”

“What’s your name sir?”

“I have to go now.”

“Sir, I need your name and I need you to stay at the scene so the police can talk to you.”

“No I, I don’t want to get any more involved. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“Sir, are you still there? Sir?”

**********

Danny yawned loudly and rotated his shoulders to stretch them as he walked. God he was tired. He looked forward to getting home and standing under a hot shower for about 10 minutes. It was an ungodly six in the morning and the blond man was beginning to regret walking the three miles to and from his friend’s house but he knew that he’d need the fresh air and exercise to stay awake at work after having slept so little last night. He wasn’t 25 anymore, that much was obvious.

His bed partner last night – and this morning – had been enthusiastic and energetic and Danny had enjoyed himself thoroughly but he couldn’t help feeling the usual cloud of melancholy settling over him as it did after each of these encounters. They weren’t what he wanted in his life but he knew he could never have what he really wanted.

He shook his head in disgust. He wasn’t much given to self-pity but, fuck, why was he always falling in love with the wrong people? First it was Rachel. Of course he would never regret his relationship with the British woman since it resulted in Grace, but his wife had grown tired of him being a $65,000 a year cop with lousy hours and dangerous assignments. She’d traded up for a man who came home promptly at 5 p.m. each night and made enough money to put Danny’s daughter in a private school and make his former wife the queen bee of an exclusive country club.

Danny rounded the corner for the last block to his apartment, trudging slowly and feeling the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. 

Then there was Steve – Lt. Commander Steven J. McGarrett, he of the tattoos and tight shirts and panty-melting grin. Danny thought he’d been in love with Steve since the day he’d punched the arrogant bastard in the face and after two years of bickering, yelling and flirting, he’d convinced himself Steve shared his feelings. Certainly the drunken make-out session on Steve’s beach three weeks ago that resulted in both of them coming in their pants made Danny even more certain Steve shared his interest. But the next morning’s awkward discussion in which Steve made it clear that it was never going to happen between the two of them put a crashing end to that little fantasy.

It wasn’t long after that a broken-hearted Danny met his current companion. And while his new partner was pleasant and satisfying to be with…well it was still Steve who occupied his mind; still Steve whose name had to be bitten back every time he had an orgasm. Still Steve whom he followed with his eyes as the former Navy SEAL stormed around the office or leapt from tall buildings or climbed wet and dripping out of the ocean. 

Danny shook himself visibly. He had to get over this hopeless crush on his partner!

The detective approached his apartment building and sighed in annoyance at the commotion around it. A half-dozen police cars, their lights flashing, were parked at awkward angles in front of the eight storey apartment building he now called home. The blond man saw an ambulance and Max’s coroner’s van parked nearby. Someone was dead and while at any other time Danny would have waded into the action, today he was too tired to care.

Danny walked up the path to his building and was surprised that no cops were standing on guard in the foyer. He shook his head at such lax police work and pushed the button for the elevator. He only lived on the third floor and would usually walk up (not run like Super SEAL) but it felt like everything on his body was sore and besides, he only had a half-hour to eat, shower and get dressed for work.

The elevator dinged and the door slid open on three as Danny dug around in his jeans pockets for his keys. The first thing he’d do when he got into his apartment would be to get the coffee maker going so the life-giving elixir would be waiting for him when he finished his shower.

When Danny looked up, keys in hand, he was shocked to see several uniformed officers standing in the hallway in front of the open door of his apartment. One cop nudged the other who looked up at Danny and set his face in the hard, neutral expression of an experienced veteran.

The cop, an older man Danny thought was named Watanabe, stepped forward to block Danny’s path. Behind him, the younger cop who had spotted Danny scurried into the detective’s apartment while another uniformed officer wandered over in studied nonchalance and took up a place just behind the detective effectively trapping him between the two officers.

Danny opened his mouth to demand what the hell they thought they were doing when Detective Sylvia Kailikea walked out of the apartment, the young cop at her heels.

Danny looked over at the 40-something female detective in annoyance.

“Sylvia what’s going on? Why are you in my place?”

“Daniel Williams?” the woman asked formally as if she and the blond detective had never met. 

Danny rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest.

“Yes of course. What the hell is this? We’ve known each other for over two years.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to come downtown with me Mr. Williams,” Detective Kailikea responded, ignoring his comment.

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed worriedly.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Sylvia nodded at the cop standing behind Danny who reached out and clasped the blond detective’s bicep firmly.

“We’ll explain everything downtown,” Sylvia replied coldly.

The Jersey native shook his head and wrenched his arm away from the uniformed cop’s grasp.

“No you’ll explain everything now! What the fuck is going on? Am I under arrest?”

“Not at this time, we just need to ask you some questions.”

Danny met the eyes of each of the cops before turning his attention back to Detective Kailikea.

“Questions about what? Look unless you tell me what’s going on around here I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Detective Kailikea took a few steps toward Danny and pushed her face within inches of his, her earlier patience having drained away.

“You want to know what’s going on?” she snapped irritably. “I’ll tell you what’s going on. There’s a dead woman in your apartment. She’s been murdered – savagely beaten to death with a police nightstick that looks like it belongs to you. And now you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

**********

Danny paced, with growing frustration, around the small, dank interrogation room. He’d been in this room many times during his six months with HPD but never thought he’d be the one waiting for interrogation.

Kailikea and the young uniformed cop had dropped him in here an hour ago showing up only once, just long enough for Danny to tell them he wasn’t going to speak to them and wanted a lawyer or at least wanted them to contact Steve.

Yes, he knew what it must have looked like to them when he asked for a lawyer before submitting to questioning. He, like every other cop, had been taught to believe that innocent people don’t ask for lawyers and should be willing to cooperate fully with the police. But having seen several people railroaded by over-zealous cops, Danny wasn’t about to make that mistake – especially since a few members of HPD still resented him as a haole outsider and would probably love to see him fall on his ass.

Danny grumbled under his breath. He still hadn’t been allowed to contact a lawyer and he was pretty sure Kailikea hadn’t bothered to call Steve preferring to keep 5-0 out of the investigation as long as possible. He smirked at that. It wouldn’t take Steve long to figure out what was going on and when he did, nothing would stop him from getting here. 

Danny hated feeling useless and out of touch. Kailikea had grudgingly told him the body in his apartment was a young woman. No ID was found on her and she had been beaten so badly that a visual identification was impossible. That’s all he knew. The blond man stopped his pacing for a moment and rubbed his hands over his face; Jesus what a nightmare.

The detective dropped his hands away from his face and chuckled when he heard loud voices coming from the hallway – one booming above the rest. Super SEAL to the rescue. The interview room door flew open and Steve barged in with a pissed-off looking Kailikea trotting along after him. The Commander grabbed Danny by the shoulders and ran his eyes up and down his partner looking for injuries.

“Danno, you ok?”

The Jersey native nodded feeling a bizarre sense of relief now that Steve was here.

“Yeah babe, I’m fine. Just a bit pissed off and a lot confused.”

“We’ll figure this out,” responded Steve firmly giving Danny an encouraging smile and a squeeze of the shoulders before pulling his hands away and turning to glare at Kailikea.

“I want to talk to my partner alone.”

The Hawaiian woman snorted in disbelief. She may have been six inches shorter than Steve but she was one of the few not intimidated by him.

“That’s not possible Commander. You shouldn’t even be in here, this is an HPD case and…”

“This is 5-0’s case now,” interrupted Steve rudely as he pushed Danny into one of the room’s battered wooden chairs in front of an equally battered wooden table. “I’m taking over. Now get out and let me interview this man. And turn off the audio system in the other room too. I’ll pass on whatever information I think you need to know.”

Kailikea glared at Steve in barely suppressed rage for a moment before turning on her heel to storm out of the room.

“We’ll see what the Chief thinks about this,” she yelled over her shoulder before slamming the interrogation room door.

Danny shook his head at his partner’s continued inability to have proper mammal-to-mammal interactions with anyone (although he was secretly pleased to have Steve’s protective instincts aimed at him).

“You realize the Chief is never going to let 5-0 take over and the Governor will agree with him?”

Steve nodded and dropped down into a chair across from Danny pulling his iPhone out of one of his many pockets.

“Yeah I know but by the time they talk and work through the red tape we’ll have you cleared of this bullshit.”

Danny couldn’t help but smile fondly at his partner’s naiveté. Despite the Navy SEAL’s years in Naval Intelligence, his terrible experiences in combat as well as his time leading 5-0, the dark-haired man still had a basic belief that right and goodness would prevail. Danny had been a cop too long to buy into that.

“Ok,” Steve began, setting his iPhone to record and placing it on the table top between them before looking up at Danny intently. “What happened in your apartment last night?”

Danny licked his lips and shrugged.

“I have no idea. I wasn’t there.”

Steve cocked his head slightly.

“Where were you?”

“I spent the night with a friend.”

“All night?” 

“Yeah.”

“What time did you leave your place last night?”

“I’m not sure…just after 9:30 I think.”

Steve entwined his fingers and laid his hands on the table. Despite his inherent nosiness, he didn’t really enjoy grilling his partner about his personal life, or maybe he just hated hearing about it.

“Were you with Gabby?”

“No, I told you, Gabby and I broke up two months ago.”

“I know but I thought maybe…anyway it doesn’t matter. What’s the name of the woman you were with?”

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly his eyes never leaving Steve’s, his hands clenched tightly on his lap.

“I wasn’t with a woman.”

Steve froze visibly and stared at Danny for a moment before dropping his eyes to the table and clearing his throat nervously.

“Oh ahh, ok, what’s the name of the man you were with?”

A long silence ensued and when Danny failed to respond, Steve looked up at his partner impatiently.

“Danny? Did you hear my question? What is the name of the man you were with?”

Danny swallowed heavily and pulled his top lip between his teeth to chew on it for a moment as he pondered his answer.

“I can’t tell you,” he responded finally, his voice so quiet Steve almost didn’t hear him.

“What?”

“I can’t tell you,” Danny repeated, his voice stronger this time.

Steve stared at his best friend dumbstruck for a moment. The Commander leaned forward across the table and turned one ear towards Danny as if he had misheard the answer.

“You can’t tell me?” the SEAL repeated in disbelief.

Danny shook his head mutely.

Steve slapped the palm of one hand on the table causing the smaller man to jump in surprise.

“What the fuck are you talking about Danny?” the Commander yelled. “This is no time to be playing games. You’re suspected of committing a murder! Tell me the name of the man you were with last night.”

Danny dropped his chin and took in another deep breath as he folded his arms tightly over his chest.

“I’m sorry. I’m not playing games but I can’t tell you his name.”

“Why the fuck not?” Steve roared both hands now flat on the table as if he needed to keep them there to stop himself from reaching over and shaking his partner.

“Because he’s…he’s a very important person and no one knows that he…sleeps with men,” Danny replied carefully, a faint blush spreading over his cheeks. “He’s still in the closet. If this came out it might ruin his career.”

Steve barked a loud, mirthless laugh.

“I don’t give a damn if it ruins his career or not. He’s your alibi for last night and he needs to come forward and speak up for you.”

Danny scrubbed his hands through his hair in frustration before dropping them back to his lap and lifting his eyes back up to Steve’s face.

“I’m sure when he hears what happened he will come forward but until then, I’m not going to be the one to out him.”

“Danny!”

“Steven!” the blonde detective snapped pushing himself to his feet to begin pacing the room again, hands now flailing wildly. “I’m sorry. I’m no more thrilled about this than you are but I promised this person that I would keep his name and our relationship a secret and I won’t break that promise.”

“Even if it means you’ll go to jail?” asked Steve with a growl of frustration.

Danny stopped and turned to give his partner a weak smile.

“It won’t come to that. I’ve got 5-0 on my side. They’re the best.”

Steve pushed back his chair with a loud squeak on the linoleum floor and climbed to his feet, hands fisted on his hips.

“We’re the best but we’re not miracle workers Danny. A dead woman was found in your apartment – beaten to a pulp with a weapon that apparently belonged to you. The Prosecuting Attorney is going to have no problem indicting you unless you provide a rock-solid alibi so I’m asking you again, what is the name of the man you were with last night?"

Danny shook his head and looked back at Steve with pleading eyes.

“Babe, I’m sorry I can’t – I won’t betray him. I gave my word.”

Steve stared at Danny in shock for a moment. When he spoke again his voice was brittle with an emotion he didn’t want to name.

“He…he means that much to you? You love him that much?”

Danny swallowed hard and looked away to a point just over Steve's right shoulder.

“No, I don’t love him. He’s not the one I…” Danny paused for a moment then shook his head dismissively returning his gaze to Steve, a look of resolve on his face. “But he’s a friend and I care about him and I won’t be the one to destroy his career.”

**********

Steve shoved the main doors of the 5-0 offices open hard enough they bounced off the wall behind them as he stormed into the bullpen.

Kono and Chin hurried out of their respective offices and intercepted him near the computer table.

“How’s Danny?” Kono began questioning immediately, “Is he ok?”

Steve growled in frustration as he gripped the edge of the computer table trying to tamp down his anger.

“He’s fine. Annoying as hell but fine,” the Commander spat in disgust.

“Why? What’s wrong?” asked Chin knowing Steve’s anger was not aimed at them but at the situation they now found themselves in.

“He…” Steve stopped himself for a moment. Did Chin and Kono know Danny was bisexual? They were going to have to now; whatever secrets Danny had were about to be exposed. “He spent the night with a friend last night and won’t tell me the person’s…the man’s name.”

The Commander glanced up at his teammates warily and was surprised to not see surprise on their faces. He raised one eyebrow in confusion.

“You knew?”

Kono wrinkled her nose at him like he was an idiot.

“What that Danny sometimes dated men? Yeah he told me a long time ago.”

“Me too,” added Chin quietly.

Steve considered that for a moment. Was it possible they knew about what had happened between Danny and himself? He dismissed the thought but another one immediately popped into his head and hope swelled inside him.

“So do either of you know who he’s been seeing?” 

“I know who he’d like to be seeing,” muttered Kono under her breath earning her a warning glare from Chin. The young officer pulled herself up straight and met her boss’s confused gaze steadily. “No, he hasn’t mentioned anyone to me.”

Steve looked over at Chin who shook his head causing the Commander to deflate slightly. He took a moment to mull things over in his mind before turning to face his two teammates.

“Ok look, Danny refuses to name his new…friend because this guy is supposedly important and being outed would ruin his career. But I don’t care about that. I want us to find this guy and force him to come forward to alibi Danny. In the meantime we need to find out who the dead woman was, why she was in Danny’s apartment and who killed her.”

“The HPD isn’t going to…” Chin began with a note of caution.

Steve held up both hands, palms out.

“I know, I know. They’re going to want us off this case and the Governor will probably agree but until we get the word officially, we investigate. Even if the Governor tells us to stop looking for the murderer, we are still going to find the man Danny was with last night.”

The two cousins glanced at each other then back at Steve nodding firmly. The 5-0 team was ohana and they weren’t about to stand by wringing their hands while Danny faced life in prison.

Steve turned blazing eyes on the young female investigator.

“Kono, I want you to go and talk to Max and see if he’s been able to ID the vic. Then I want you to call Rachel…”

“She and Grace are in England,” the young woman supplied.

“Yeah I know but it’s possible that Danny mentioned this man he’s dating to Rachel or that Grace has met the guy.”

“That seems unlikely Steve,” Chin interrupted. “Danny would never introduce Grace to someone if he wasn’t serious about them and if he was serious about this man, surely he would have told us he was in a relationship. He would have trusted us to keep it quiet.”

Steve nodded and waved a dismissive hand at the older Hawaiian detective.

“Yeah I know Chin but it’s still possible she might know something even without realizing it.”

Kono nodded and hurried out of the office as Steve turned his attention to the older detective.

“Chin I want you to download Danny’s phone records – both for work and home. He must have talked to this guy on the phone at least once.”

The Hawaiian detective nodded reluctantly and turned to the table to carry out his assignment. He hated invading Danny’s privacy like this but the team had to do whatever was necessary to clear the Jersey native of the murder charge – even if he refused to help himself. 

**********

It was early evening when Steve got the call he’d been expecting. Clearing his throat, he forced himself to make his voice as carefully neutral as possible.

“Good evening Governor.”

“Steve, what’s going on over there? Chief Makaha tells me they’ve just charged Danny Williams with murder.”

“Yes sir,” Steve replied, his voice tight with anger. “But I have every confidence that we can clear Danny of these bogus charges.”

The Commander heard the Governor sigh on the other end of the phone.

“Steve, you know you can’t investigate this crime. You’re too close to it. Your impartiality would be in question.”

“Governor, Danny is my partner. I’m not leaving him twisting in the wind.”

“Steve, I’m sorry but I’m ordering you to let HPD handle this investigation.”

Steve jerked up from behind the desk and began pacing his office to burn off the anger bubbling within him.

“Governor there are still members of HPD who hate Danny, who think he’s a know-it-all haole and who resent him being selected for 5-0 above the native-born cops. How the hell can I be sure they will be impartial?”

“I trust Chief Makaha Steve. He’s a good man and a good cop. I’ve told him I want him to supervise this case personally and ensure everything is above board.”

Steve snorted in derision at that but the Governor refused get into a verbal sparring match with the head of 5-0.

“I’m sorry Steve but I’ve made my decision. You and your team are to have nothing to do with the murder investigation. I won’t stop you from trying to help Danny prove his alibi but you’re to stay out of the direct investigation is that clear?”

Steve stopped his pacing and squeezed his eyes closed feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

“Yes sir,” he growled, jabbing the end call button on his phone before he said something he would come to regret.

Steve hurled his phone onto his desk then walked to his leather couch and dropped down onto it. He suddenly felt tired and overwhelmed.

From where he sat he could look into Danny’s empty office and the sight made him suddenly feel very much alone. It was amazing how much the short, mouthy Jersey native had forced his way into Steve’s life and his consciousness. Even though he’d resented the intrusion at first, over the past two years he’d come to need Danny’s presence by his side to ground him – to remind him what friendship, and love, was really about.

Love. 

Steve shook his head sadly at the word. He loved Danny – he was in love with Danny. He wanted the blond man in his life and in his bed – he needed him; felt like he couldn’t breathe without him and that scared the shit out of him because Steve was a Navy SEAL. He was a weapon, a finely-honed sword ready to go to battle at any moment. He needed to be sharp; he couldn’t allow himself to become soft, to become weakened by love. He couldn’t allow himself to get too close to anyone, to depend on them or to need them. 

Three weeks ago he and Danny had gotten drunk and Steve had let his guard down to the point where he and his partner made out on the beach, rubbing up against each other like horny teenagers. It was only the next morning that Steve realized how stupid he’d been. How weak he’d allowed himself to become because of his attraction to Danny. When the blond man awoke the next morning looking gorgeous with his messy hair and happy smile, Steve sat him down and told him they’d made a mistake and it would never – could never – happen again. 

The Commander would never forget the wounded expression in Danny’s eyes as he threw on his clothes and stumbled out of Steve’s ocean-front home looking lost and betrayed. It took all Steve had to stop himself from running after Danny, from begging his forgiveness and shoving him up against the car and kissing him stupid.

It was a testament to the professionalism of both of them that they were able to continue at work, preserving their partnership even as their cherished friendship had suffered.

Steve was startled out of his musing when Kono tapped on his office door and opened it quietly.

“You ok?” she asked solicitously.

The Commander shook his head sadly.

“They’ve gone ahead with the murder charge.”

Kono nodded as she fidgeted with the file folder in her hand.

“I heard. He’s being arraigned tomorrow morning.”

Steve stood up from the couch and walked over to his desk and sat down behind it ready to get back to business.

“I have a friend who used to be a JAG lawyer. He does criminal law now. I’ll see if he’ll represent Danny.”

Kono smiled slightly and nodded. Steve would make sure Danny had the best lawyer possible. 

The Commander looked up at her expectantly. 

“Anything?”

The young officer nodded as she sat down in a chair in front of Steve’s desk and opened the file folder she held.

“Max said no visual ID was possible from the victim due to the extent of the injuries but he ran her fingerprints and got a match.”

Kono pulled a rap sheet from the file folder and handed it over the desk to Steve.

“Her name is Elizabeth Parsons, 23 years old. The rap sheet is from a shoplifting conviction from two years ago. The judge sentenced her to community service and she’s apparently stayed clean since then. She’s a bartender at the Pina Colada Lounge on Hopaka Street. I phoned over there as soon as Max ID’d her and they confirm she didn’t show up for her shift last night.

Steve took a moment to examine the photograph of the petite brunette. Like all mug shots, this one was not flattering but she appeared to be a pretty girl with sparkling green eyes.

“Can you find any link between her and Danny?” Steve asked looking up at the Hawaiian officer again. She shook her head. 

“Nothing.”

“What about time of death?” Steve continued questioning. “Was Max able to pin it down?”

“Judging by body temperature and the state of rigor, Max thinks she was murdered between midnight and 2 a.m.” 

Steve nodded as he skimmed over Max’s preliminary report. He froze when he got to one particular section and looked up at Kono in surprise.

“The body shows no signs of defensive wounds.”

Kono nodded and sat forward in her chair.

“Max found that strange as well. Unless the killer got the drop on her and knocked her out with the first blow, which is possible, he’s thinking that maybe she was incapacitated by something before she was beaten. That could explain how the killer got her into Danny’s apartment so quietly. He’s running a tox screen right now.”

Steve blew a heavy breath out of his cheeks and sat back on his office chair dropping the folder on his desk.

“OK…Were you able to get hold of Rachel?”

Kono nodded again.

“Yes, she’s upset not surprisingly and she wanted to come back right away but I talked her out of it. As soon as Danny’s name is made public there will be a media circus and they don’t need to be in the middle of that.”

“Good. She’s better off staying in England until we get this cleared up,” responded Steve quietly.

“I asked her about the person Danny has apparently been dating,” Kono continued. “She said she wasn’t aware that Danny had been dating anyone and I didn’t feel right telling her that Danny’s friend was a man. I wasn’t sure it was my place to share that information with her in case she didn’t know.”

“Did Rachel ask Grace if she knew anything?”

“Yes but Grace told her Danny hasn’t said anything about dating anyone and she hasn’t met anyone new as far as she knows.”

Steve rubbed his hands over his face. They were no closer to finding out who Danny had spent the night with, and now Danny was on his way to jail.

**********

Steve was lost in thought as he strode towards the 5-0 offices early the next morning and at first didn’t hear his name being called until the person speaking to him was only a few feet away. He spun around in surprise to find Commander Dale Schneider jogging towards him, a large smile on his face. The tall, red-headed naval officer was sporting a loud Hawaiian shirt and the sunburn common to tourists or newcomers to the islands.

“Steve! I thought that was you. How are you?”

Steve forced a smile to his face as he put out his hand for Dale to shake.

“Dale! I mean sir. It’s good to see you again.”

The Commander shook Steve’s hand heartily and scoffed at the sudden formality.

“We’re off duty Steve, don’t bother with the sir. Besides, if you’d stayed full-time in the Navy you’d probably outrank me by now.”

“What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were serving aboard the Ronald Reagan?”

Dale grinned happily.

“I got transferred to Pearl a couple of months ago. I kept meaning to call you or look you up but something always got in the way.”

Steve smiled in understanding.

“Yeah, I know what that’s like. How are Janice and the kids?”

Dale’s smile faded slightly and he dropped his eyes to the ground in obvious embarrassment.

“They’re still in Norfolk actually. We’ve been…well Janice and I have been having some problems and I’m not sure they will be joining me here.”

Steve reached out a hand to squeeze Dale’s upper arm sympathetically.

“I’m sorry Dale. I hope things get better. You and Janice were always a great couple.”

The Commander nodded in appreciation then looked up at Steve seriously.

“Sounds like you have problems of your own. I heard on the radio that one of your men was arrested for murder?”

“Yeah he was but he’s innocent. My team is the best. We’ll get him cleared of the charges.”

Dale favoured Steve with a small, sympathetic smile.

“I’m sure you will Steve. I’ve never known you to fail.”

The SEAL gave his friend a sickly looking smile. He wished he could be so confident in his abilities at this moment.

“Look Dale, I have to go but will you call me as soon as I have this case cleared up? We can grab some beers.”

Dale nodded emphatically and shook Steve’s hand once again.

“You bet. I look forward to it. Good luck with clearing your man Steve.”

**********

Steve joined Chin and Kono who were already hunched over the tech table when he entered the 5-0 offices minutes later.

“Chin, have you found anything?” Steve questioned as he came to a stop next to the other man.

Chin straightened up and swiped his hand over the table to bring up several specific documents to the overhead screens. 

“Danny has received about a dozen calls from the same phone number at various times of the day over the past three weeks.”

“Can we trace it?” asked Kono. Her cousin shook his head regretfully.

“The calls come from a disposable phone – untraceable.”

“Shit,” Steve hissed as he leaned heavily on the computer table.

“However, he’s also received several dozen text messages from someone who calls himself Trip,” continued the older detective, swiping copies of the messages onto the screen. “The messages originate from the same burn phone.”

Steve leaned into the table to read a few of the text messages. They weren’t explicit but it was obvious from the tone and the words used that Danny and Trip were sexually involved.

Steve looked away as a feeling of white hot jealously suddenly shot through him. He tightened his jaw as he fought to tamp down the sudden wave of emotion. He’d turned Danny down, sent him away. He had no right feeling resentful that the blond man had moved on – no matter how quickly it had happened after their encounter on the beach.

The Commander looked up to see his two teammates staring at him sympathetically. He had to pull himself together.

“Is there any mention of anyone named Trip in Danny’s files? Is it possible this man is a high-ranking member of the HPD?”

Chin shook his head regretfully.

“I can’t find anyone by that name or nickname in Danny’s files. I even called a few of my old friends in the HPD and none of them know of anyone who calls himself Trip.”

Chin snorted in disgust.

“I even tried calling the number in the hopes that Trip would answer but the phone is no longer in service. He obviously got rid of it as soon as Danny was arrested.”

“Bastard!” hissed Kono angrily.

Steve chewed distractedly on the knuckle of one finger for a moment before looking up at his teammates who were looking at him expectantly.

“Kono, Chin I want you to touch base with Detective Kailikea and get her to let you search Danny’s apartment.”

Chin opened his mouth to argue but Steve put up his hand to stop him before he could speak. The gesture reminded them all of something Danny would do.

“I know it’s still a crime scene and we’re not supposed to be involved but the Governor has given us permission to try to prove Danny’s alibi. I want the two of you to get into his apartment and see if you can find anything related to this Trip person and try to figure out who the hell he is. 

**********

“McGarrett,” Steve growled into his phone as he steered his truck towards the court house for Danny’s arraignment.

“Steve? It’s John Price.”

John was a former JAG lawyer Steve had come to know during his time with Naval Intelligence. The tall, good looking African American man in his mid 40’s was now one of the top criminal lawyers in Hawaii and Steve knew he was lucky as hell that the man had agreed to take Danny’s case on such short notice.

“Hey John, I’m on my way to the courthouse. Is everything ok?”

“Yes it’s fine but Danny asked me to make a quick call to you in case he didn’t get to see you this morning. He wanted me to tell you that he knows the murder victim Elizabeth Parsons. Apparently she was his neighbour in his first apartment when he moved to Hawaii.”

Steve sat up abruptly gripping the steering wheel.

“Terrific John, thank you. That’s the link we’ve been looking for.”

“There’s more Steve,” the attorney interjected. “Danny says Ms. Parsons came to see him a couple of months ago when she began having problems with a young man someone by the name of…” 

Steve heard papers rustling in the background as John searched for the name. 

“…Kayl something, Danny couldn’t remember the last name. Apparently this young man had been harassing Ms. Parsons and demanding she go out with him. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and started making threatening comments. She got scared and called Danny who encouraged her to take out a restraining order then went to speak to the young man. Danny says the boy was frightened and burst into tears when he spoke to him and Danny felt the boy was probably basically harmless but he wanted you to be aware of it anyway.”

Steve felt a small burst of hope at this latest bit of news. It might turn out to be nothing but at least they finally had a tie between Danny and the murder victim. What they were a long way from figuring out was why she was murdered in the detective’s apartment.

“Thanks John that’s very helpful information. Tell Danny we’ll start looking into it immediately.”

“I’ll do that Steve. By the way you should also know that I’ll be seeking bail for Danny but, given the fact that he currently has no strong ties to Hawaii with Grace away, I highly doubt I’ll get it. In any case I’ll try.”

“On the off chance the judge grants him bail, what’s it likely to be?”

“I would say somewhere in the order of $2 to $3 million.”

Steve whistled through his teeth.

“Of course you can find a bail bondsman to put up the money but you’ll still need to put up 10% of that.”

Steve nodded unconsciously and did some quick math in his head. 

“My house is worth at least that. I can take out a mortgage on it if necessary.”

John paused for a moment as if to argue then obviously thought better of it.

“Alright, well, we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. As I said Steve, the likelihood of bail being granted is very small.”

“Ok John,” the SEAL responded softly. “Thanks for calling. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Disconnecting his call with the lawyer, Steve immediately dialed Chin’s number. The Hawaiian detective answered on the second ring.

“Nothing yet Steve,” Chin reported assuming Steve wanted an update of their search of Danny’s house. “If Trip was ever here there’s no sign of it and there’s no mention of him or anyone who might be him in any of Danny’s papers.”

“OK Chin but that’s not why I was calling. Danny’s lawyer just called to pass along a message from Danny.”

The Commander explained the relationship between Danny and Elizabeth Parsons and the trouble Danny had helped her with.

“When you get back to the office can you dig up the paperwork Elizabeth would have filled out to get the restraining order on this Kayl person? Then track him down because we’ll want to talk to him.”

**********

Steve didn’t suppose he’d ever get over the sight of Danny standing in the prisoner’s dock. His partner was wearing the same clothes he’d been arrested in the day before – jeans and a tee-shirt – and he looked rumpled and exhausted with a scruffy growth of beard and dark circles under his eyes. From his own brief time in the HPD holding cells, Steve knew they were noisy and smelly and the only people who could sleep in them were drunks or drug users too out of it to be bothered by much of anything.

Steve had felt his throat tighten as a handcuffed Danny was led into the courtroom by two armed guards while a packed public gallery, mostly filled with journalists on the scent of a juicy story, stared at the detective like he was a circus freak. Danny kept his eyes forward most of the time but at one point glanced around the room, met Steve’s eyes and gave his partner a small smile. 

Steve wanted to stand up and scream about the injustice of it all. Couldn’t they see what a good man Danny was? Couldn’t they understand the blond man wouldn’t murder anyone? The SEAL took in a shaky breath and watched the brief proceedings with a sinking heart. 

John Price was as good as Steve remembered but the talented lawyer could not convince the judge to release Danny on bail despite assurances that he would not flee the state his daughter called home. To Steve’s fury, the judge dismissed all of John’s arguments choosing to believe instead that Danny was a flight risk and couldn’t be trusted to appear for his own trial if released. He held Danny over for trial and worst of all, ordered that he be transferred to Halawa to await his preliminary hearing.

Steve closed his eyes tightly as Danny was led away. Although Danny would be kept in protective custody in Halawa prison, Steve’s own experience of his time in protective custody, which ended with his being stabbed by Victor Hess, made him fearful for Danny’s life. 

**********

Steve’s phone rang as he was about to exit the courthouse and seeing Max’s name pop up on screen caused the Commander to detour into a small alcove where he could speak to the Medical Examiner without being overheard.

“McGarrett.”

“Ah, Commander, good to hear your voice although I am most distressed at the situation in which Detective Williams now finds himself.”

“Yes, thank you Max. Did you find anything in your autopsy that can help us?”

“Well the victim died as I had originally surmised from severe blunt force trauma about the head and shoulders. Up to 20 separate blows were discernible on her body – at least four of which could have been the fatal blow.”

“Jesus,” muttered Steve in suppressed horror. What the hell could a sweet-faced 23-year-old have done to deserve that kind of vicious attack?

“Indeed,” responded Max neutrally. Anyone who didn’t know the small, Asian doctor might have thought him cold and unmoved but Steve knew better. 

“I also received the results of the tox screen,” continued the doctor, “and my initial supposition proved correct. Ms. Parsons was drugged with a high concentration of Flunitrazepam, more commonly known as Rohypnol.”

“She was roofied,” Steve amended.

“Yes that is the slang term for the drug.”

“Thank you for keeping us advised Max. I know you’ve been told to keep 5-0 out of your investigation.”

“It is true that I have been admonished not to share information with 5-0 however, I consider Detective Williams a friend – despite the fact that he appears to delete my emails unread and didn’t take part in my 80’s theme party – therefore I am more than happy to provide you what information I can.”

Steve struggled not to laugh out loud at the small slight that obviously still troubled the doctor. He thanked Max soberly for his work and disconnected the call and stood staring out the window of the little alcove. It seemed obvious that Elizabeth had been drugged so that her body could be carried to Danny’s apartment where the brutal murder took place. It was also obvious that someone was trying to set Danny up but why?

**********

“Kayl Alani,” Kono announced proudly as soon as Steve walked into the 5-0 offices later that morning. “He’s the kid Elizabeth took out a restraining order on. He’s 22 years old, lives with his parents on Kahala Avenue. No employment that I can find but he very casually attends the University of Hawaii.”

“Any criminal record?” Steve queried as he joined the young officer next to the table. 

“Aside from the restraining order, he doesn’t appear to have had any involvement with the law.”

Steve blew out a haggard breath. He couldn’t help wondering if this was a dead end. How likely was it that a 22-year-old without a criminal record and who bursts into tears when being spoken to by a police officer, was capable of committing such a vicious murder?

“However,” Kono continued, a small smile of victory on her face, “his father, Pele Alani, owns the Pina Colada Bar where Elizabeth worked and…” the young woman put up one finger to stop whatever question was on the tip of Steve’s tongue, “he’s well known to the HPD as a small time crook, low-rent hood and suspected enforcer for his friendly neighbourhood Samoan gang.”

Steve stared off into the middle distance as he pondered this new information. He couldn’t accept that it was a coincidence that a Samoan enforcer happened to own the bar where their victim worked. Not to mention the kind of brutality that Elizabeth suffered would not be out of character for a small time thug like Pele Alani. 

Steve looked back at Kono and gave the young woman a feral grin.

“Let’s go pay him a visit.”

**********

“The fuck do you want?” sneered Pele Alani as the two 5-0 detectives walked into his seedy tourist bar in the early afternoon. “Don’t like cops hanging around here. It’s bad for business; stinks the place up.”

The short, thick plug of a man with thinning grey hair and an oft-broken nose stood behind the bar giving the counter a desultory wipe.

Steve plopped down on one of the bar stools across from Alani and slapped his hand to his chest and gasped as if wounded by Alani’s words.

“Pele, how can you talk to us like that? We’re just coming to chat and you get all defensive and rude. Makes me think you have something to hide.”

“I ain’t got nothin’ to hide cop. I’m a respectable businessman and I don’t need no trouble from you.”

Kono snorted loudly and walked behind the grubby bar to loom over the ugly little man.

“Respectable businessman, huh? If you’re so fucking respectable why aren’t you happy to see us?” the young woman growled at him. “One of your employees was brutally murdered. You’d think you’d want to help us find the piece of shit that killed her.”

Alani shrugged and picked up a whiskey glass covered in water spots and began to wipe it with the same stained towel he’d used on the counter.

“I’m sorry about Lizzie but it’s not my problem. You know these kids today, all into drugs and sex. Maybe the cop that killed her wanted to bang her and she turned him down. Maybe he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Steve put his elbows on the bar and leaned on them until his face was inches from Alani’s. 

“Danny Williams didn’t murder Elizabeth but I have a feeling you might know who did. We heard your son Kayl wanted her and she turned him down. That can be hard on a young man’s ego. Maybe he decided he’d teach her a lesson.”

Pele Alani’s face flushed with anger and he shot a look of pure venom to both Kono and Steve.

“Kayl didn’t hurt no one. He hasn’t got the balls for it. Besides, Lizzie over reacted out when he asked her out – acting like she was too good for him. She embarrassed him sending that cop after him. Then getting that restraining order like she was some kind of fucking princess? Freaked the kid out and left him a blubbering mess. I should have fired her the moment she got that fucking court order but I figured she’d sue me so I put up with her. She’s lucky I’m a forgiving man and she still had a job.”

Steve shook his head in disgust.

“Oh yeah, she’s lucky all right. She’s lying on a slab in the morgue with her head bashed in. Real lucky.”

Alani shrugged and put down the glass and began to turn away.

“That ain’t my problem cop.”

Kono grabbed the vile little man by the bicep and spun him to face her.

“Where’s your son now? We want to talk to him.”

Alani smiled up at the Hawaiian woman lecherously.

“Sorry sweetheart, Kayl ain’t here. He was so fucking upset about Lizzie that I sent him away to Maui for a few days. Hoping he’ll meet some girl and get his rocks off and come back a man again.”

“When did he leave for Maui?” Steve demanded.

“Yesterday afternoon.”

Steve and Kono looked pointedly at each other.

“Interesting…just after Danny was arrested.”

Alani shrugged again and wrenched his arm out of Kono’s grip and hurried to the back of the bar.

The two 5-0 officers looked at each other expectantly before Kono gave a theatrical shudder.

“I think I need a shower after being near him.”

Steve smirked and nodded.

“Well after you’re done your shower, I want you and Chin to go to Maui and find Kayl Alani and drag him back to this island. I’d like you to give him your special attention when questioning him Kono.”

The beautiful Hawaiian officer smiled happily as she rested her hand on the butt of her service weapon.

“It would be a pleasure boss.”

**********

It was the next morning before Steve could pull enough strings in the Governor’s office to get permission to visit Danny in Halawa. Since 5-0 wasn’t officially investigating the murder, getting permission to see Danny had been a bitch.

As he sat in a hard plastic chair behind the thick glass that would separate him from his partner, Steve shivered unconsciously as he remembered his own brief stay in Halawa. Steve may have been a Navy SEAL and tough as nails but prison could still be intimidating as hell. Danny was tough and could take care of himself but he also had a lot of enemies in the prison and Steve wouldn’t know a moment’s rest until his best friend walked out of the prison a free man. 

The Commander looked up when a door clanged open and he had to school his features to look calm as a handcuffed, shackled Danny was led into the visitor’s area, the bright orange jump suit making the detective look pale and sickly.

The guard who was escorting Danny shoved the detective down into a chair on the other side of the glass from Steve. Danny had to do some manoeuvring with his shackles to reach the phone he would use to speak to Steve. The Commander picked up the phone on his side of the glass and gave his partner a weak smile.

“How you holding up babe?” Steve asked surprised by how scratchy his own voice sounded.

Danny shrugged.

“It’s ok. I’m ok. They’re keeping me locked in a cell separated from the other prisoners but some of my friends in here have found ways to stop by and say hello. Rick Peterson looked in on me yesterday. Very polite of him I thought,” Danny replied dryly.

Steve clutched the phone in a white-knuckled grip.

“Peterson? What the fuck? How was he able to get within 50 feet of you?”

Danny chuckled ironically.

“You know what it’s like in here Steve. It doesn’t take these assholes long to find one guard who will look the other way for a few extra bucks.”

Steve tightened his free hand into a fist on the ledge in front of him.

“I’ll talk to the Warden as soon as we’re done here. I’ll make sure…”

“Steven, please don’t,” interrupted Danny angrily. “You’ll just make it worse for me. The honest guards in here who actually make an effort to protect me already think I’m a dirty cop. I don’t want to make them hate me any more than they do. Just leave it. Please.”

Steve rubbed his free hand through his hair then dropped his forehead into it for a moment before looking up at his partner again with a look of guilt and regret on his face.

“God Danny I’m so sorry.”

The blond man shrugged, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“What are you sorry for? None of this is your fault - surprisingly”

Steve dropped his eyes to the table and distractedly ran a finger over the initials he found carved into its surface.

“It’s just…that night on the beach and the next morning…”

“Oh Steve, don’t even…” Danny interrupted harshly. “That’s over – finished. You can’t help the way you feel. You don’t love me. I get that. No reason to keep rehashing it.”

“Danny that’s not…”

“Steve, please!” Danny hissed into the phone. “I don’t want to get into this now. I have enough problems. Besides I moved on.”

Steve jerked his head up to glare at the other man. 

“Oh yes, you moved on, fairly quickly too. And this guy you moved on to. What a treasure he turned out to be. He hasn’t even got the balls to come forward and give you an alibi.”

“He will,” replied Danny stubbornly.

“How do you know?” demanded Steve, now sitting on the edge of his chair, his face almost pressed up against the glass that separated them. “How do you know he won’t just walk away and let you take the fall?” 

“Because he’s a good man; he’s probably just scared right now. He won’t let me be convicted. It would go against his honor code.”

Steve stiffened at that; his eyes wide with sudden, horrible realization.

“What? What did you just say?” he demanded his voice a rough whisper.

Danny swallowed heavily and opened and closed his mouth several times realizing he’d just given away a vital clue to his lover’s identity.

“Honor code?” Steve snapped, keeping a white-knuckle grip on the phone in his hand. “That’s a military academy term. Your boyfriend is a military officer isn’t he?”

“He-he’s not my boyfriend,” muttered Danny trying desperately to deflect the conversation.

“God damn it Danny. You’re sleeping with a high-ranking military officer aren’t you?”

“Steve…” Danny whispered trying to calm down his partner.

Steve grew pale and Danny’s heart thudded in his chest as he saw a variety of emotions flicker over his friend’s face.

“Jesus Christ, it’s Dale isn’t it?” Steve whispered hoarsely. “Dale Schneider?”

Danny’s face was a mask of confusion.

“What? Who the hell is Dale Schneider? I’ve never heard of the man.”

“Don’t lie to me Danny!” Steve growled, shaking his head in disgust at his own blindness. “I should have known when he just happened to walk by the 5-0 offices the day after you were arrested and began asking me questions about your case.”

Danny leaned forward in his chair, jerking at his shackles as if trying to reach out to Steve.

“Steve, I’m not lying to you. I have no idea who this Dale Schneider is. He’s not the man I’ve been sleeping with.”

Steve stared at his partner for a long moment, chest heaving with rage and betrayal.

“This is the end of this bullshit Danny. That bastard is going to stand up and do what’s right and admit he was with you on Thursday night even if I have to drag him to HPD headquarters by his epaulettes.”

Danny opened his mouth to argue but the SEAL slammed down the phone and surged to his feet toppling his chair over before turning and marching out of the room. He couldn’t hear Danny calling his name.

**********

Steve stormed into his office and grabbed the receiver of his desk phone out of its cradle like it was a grenade with a pulled pin. He paced angrily as far as the phone cord would let him as he waited to be put through to the correct office.

“Commander Schneider,” Dale answered the phone with a chipper manner that set Steve’s teeth on edge.

“Dale, it’s Steve. I need you to come to the 5-0 offices right now.”

Schneider paused noticeably undoubtedly taken aback by Steve’s brusque manner.

“What’s this about Steve?”

Steve snorted derisively.

“I think you know but we’ll discuss that when you get here. I’ll expect you in 45 minutes,” the head of 5-0 barked.

“Have you forgotten you’re addressing a superior officer, Lieutenant Commander?” Schneider snapped back.

“No sir,” Steve spat the title with disgust. “But I’m not asking you as an inferior grade officer, I’m ordering you as a cop and as the head of 5-0. I want you in my office in 45 minutes or I’ll call the Shore Patrol and ask them to escort you here, in cuffs if necessary.”

“Steve what the fuck…?” Schneider demanded but Steve slammed down the phone and began pacing his office in blind fury. 

Forty minutes later Commander Schneider shoved open the door of Steve’s office and stalked up to the taller man, hands fisted by his side.

“What the hell is this all about Lt. Commander McGarrett? How dare you order me to…?”

“What it’s about sir,” Steve growled into the officer’s face, “Is you and Danny Williams.”

Schneider’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click and he stared at Steve like he was mad.

“Me and Danny Williams? The member of your team who was arrested for murder? Why are you asking me about him I’ve never met the man.”

“You’re a liar,” Steve shouted taking a step into Schneider’s personal space.

“You watch your step McGarrett,” Schneider yelled back. “You may be in the Reserves but you’re still bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I could have you court-martialed for speaking to me that way.”

“And I could have you arrested under a material witness order,” returned Steve, his face now flushed with rage, “and charged with withholding evidence crucial to a criminal investigation.”

Schneider’s face blanched at that and Steve felt his stomach turn over at the obvious confusion on the other man’s face. Was he wrong about this?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Commander whispered hoarsely. “I’m not a witness to anything.”

“Yesterday I met you in the parking lot,” Steve replied pointing to the front of the building and the 5-0 parking area. “You just happened to ask me questions about Danny and now I find out Danny was having a relationship with a high-ranking military officer and I think that officer was you.”

Schneider blinked rapidly a few times and swallowed heavily. He turned away from Steve and walked several steps away before turning back to face the head of 5-0.

“No I…I don’t know Williams. I’ve never met him. I wasn’t…I wasn’t asking for myself.”

Steve stared at the other man for a moment.

“You were asking on someone else’s behalf?”

Schneider nodded and dropped his eyes to stare at Steve’s office floor.

“Who?” the SEAL demanded.

Schneider looked up at Steve then away again.

“I-I can’t…”

Steve charged towards the other man and stopped inches from him fighting down the urge to throttle him.

“Dale this is serious. Danny is facing life in prison unless I know who he was with the night of the murder. Now tell me who asked you to talk to me about this case?”

The Commander drew in an uneven breath and raised his eyes to meet Steve’s again.

“It’s…Howard…Colonel Howard Dyson.”

Steve knit his eyebrows together as he tried to dredge up the name.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” he mused asking himself as much as Dale.

The Commander rubbed a nervous hand through his red hair.

“He’s a surgeon at Tripler Army Medical Center.”

Steve closed his eyes and tipped his head back as realization suddenly washed over him.

“Tripler…” he whispered, “Trip.”

Commander Schneider cocked his head at the SEAL.

“What?”

Steve waved away the question with his hand and bore down on Schneider again.

“How did he meet Danny?”

“He said he met him a couple of months ago at Tripler when you were there being treated for wounds you’d received in an unauthorized mission. He said he and Danny got to talking and became friends. When he heard Williams was arrested he asked me to come and talk to you and find out what was happening.”

“Why didn’t he come and talk to me himself?”

“He’s in Washington at Walter Reed. He’s up for the job of President Obama’s personal physician. He left the day Williams was arrested.” 

Schneider stared at Steve incredulously for a moment. “Are you saying that Howard and Danny Williams were sleeping together?”

Steve ignored the question.

“Dale, I want you to call Colonel Dyson right away. Tell him Lt. Commander McGarrett, head of 5-0 respectfully,” Steve mockingly emphasized the word, “asks him to get on the next plane to Honolulu and report to the 5-0 offices immediately upon landing.”

Schneider huffed an outraged laugh.

“Steve I can’t just…”

“You tell him,” Steve continued ignoring Dale’s protests, “that if he has any trouble getting on the next plane, I would be more than happy to ask the MPs to make those arrangements for him and to escort him here if necessary.”

Commander Schneider swallowed thickly. Steve might be a lower rank than he was but he was still an intimidating SOB and Schneider wasn’t about to argue with him. He nodded.

“I have his cell phone number back at my office. I’ll call him right away.”

Steve nodded once and Schneider turned and left the office.

Steve walked on shaky legs over to his desk and dropped down into his chair. He’d just yelled at and accused a Navy Commander of being complicit in criminal offence and then ordered a full-bird Colonel to leave Washington and report to his office. If he wasn’t court-martialed for this it would be a fucking miracle.

The SEAL dropped his head into his hands and took several deep breaths. He was strongly considering grabbing a much-needed beer out of his office bar fridge when his desk phone rang. He snatched it up distractedly.

“McGarrett.”

“Commander McGarrett this is Warden Chiba from Halawa Prison. I wanted to advise you that prisoner Daniel Williams has been taken to Queen’s Hospital by ambulance.”

Steve jerked upright, his heart pounding.

“Why? What happened?”

“We aren’t certain but it appears he was poisoned. He became ill....”

Without waiting for any more information, Steve slammed down the phone, leapt to his feet and ran out of the office praying to God that his Danno was still alive.

**********

Steve slid to a stop in front of the emergency department admitting desk after having raced into the hospital from the parking lot.

The clerk on duty was on the phone when he arrived and he drummed his fingers impatiently waiting for her to hang up.

Finally the woman brought the call to an end and looked up at Steve with a cheerful smile.

“Can I help you sir?”

“Yes, I’m looking for my partner. He was brought here by ambulance – Detective Danny Williams.”

The woman began typing into her keyboard, her brows slowly furrowing together as she consulted the screen. Steve had to restrain himself from leaping over the counter and shaking the information out of the computer.

“Detective Williams you say?” the woman spared a glance at Steve before returning to tap away at the computer’s keyboard.

“Yes,” Steve hissed through his teeth as he clutched the edge of her desk, “Detective Danny Williams.”

“Hmmm,” the clerk mused quietly. “I don’t have anyone by that name but I do have a Daniel Williams, a prisoner transfer from Halawa but that can’t be the same man.”

Steve swallowed thickly and squeezed his eyes together for a few seconds before opening them again and nodding.

“Yes, that’s him. Can you tell me where he is and what his condition is?”

The happy smile returned to the clerk’s face.

“Mr. Williams is in Trauma Room 3 at the moment and I’m afraid his condition is unknown. If you’d like to have a seat in the waiting room Mr...?”

“Lieutenant Commander,” Steve supplied immediately. “Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett.”

Another brilliant smile.

“OK, Lt. Commander. Have a seat and I’m sure someone will be with you soon.”

**********

Steve paced frantically in the waiting room, the two guards that had escorted Danny from Halawa watching him dispassionately. He had questioned the guards the moment he spotted them in the waiting area and they had told him that Danny had been brought to the hospital after lunch when he began stumbling around in his cell and complaining of dizziness and nausea. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Danny’s conditions worsened until he was confused and his speech became slurred. The guards suspected he’d been poisoned as he began to vomit violently.

The guards assured Steve that the prison’s Warden was carrying out an investigation to find out who had poisoned Danny but Steve snorted dismissively at that. He doubted they’d ever find out the truth.

An hour after Steve arrived at the hospital a harried looking doctor clutching a clipboard strode into the waiting room and walked up to the guards. As she opened her mouth to give them a report, Steve came to stand between them.

“Are you treating Danny Williams?” Steve demanded immediately.

The tall Hispanic-looking doctor glanced between Steve and the guards in confusion for a moment before responding to him.

“Yes. Who are you?”

“I’m Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Danny’s partner.”

A small, relieved smile spread over the doctor’s face and she nodded in understanding.

“Oh good Commander, I was just about to ask these two gentlemen to have you contacted since you are listed as Mr. William’s next of kin. I’m Doctor Alvarez and I’ve been looking after your partner. Will you come with me please?”

Turning briskly, the doctor walked quickly out of the waiting room with Steve and the two guards hot on her heels. 

Dr. Alvarez pushed open the door to Trauma Room 3 and Steve gasped at the sight of his partner laid out on a gurney, a respirator breathing for him and IV lines and heart monitor leads seemingly everywhere.

Steve approached his best friend slowly and gently took one of Danny’s limp hands in his. He leaned over the unconscious man and used his free hand to push the blond’s messy hair off his forehead.

“Danny, it’s Steve. I’m here babe. You’re going to be fine Danno. You’re going to be just fine.”

The Commander straightened up and cleared his throat loudly before he could trust himself to speak to the doctor.

“What happened? Was he poisoned?”

Dr. Alvarez nodded and consulted her clipboard briefly. 

“Yes. It appears he was poisoned with Ethylene Glycol – probably in his food.”

Steve blinked at her in shock.

“Ethylene Glycol? Anti-freeze?”

“That’s correct. As I’m sure you know it’s highly toxic and is fatal if not treated quickly.

Steve glanced down at Danny, his eyes now stinging with unshed tears.

“And…did you catch it early enough.”

Dr. Alvarez gave him a small smile. 

“Yes, I think we did. We’re treating him with Fomepizole as an antidote and we’re supporting his breathing as you can see. In a few minutes we’ll be taking him up to ICU where we’ll start dialysis treatment.”

“Dialysis!” Steve repeated in horror.

“It’s the most effective way to remove the toxins from his body.” 

Seeing how upset the tall naval officer was, Dr. Alvarez placed a warm hand on Steve’s forearm. “If everything goes well Commander, your friend should recover completely.”

“He has to,” Steve whispered brokenly looking down at Danny’s pale, lax face. “He has to.”

**********

Kono drained the last mouthful from her water glass and slammed it down on the table causing Kayl Alani to jump before curling into himself as if he could disappear if he folded himself enough.

Kono and Chin had been three hours interrogating Alani at 5-0 headquarters and felt certain the weak-willed young man would break eventually. The two cops had ensured that Kayl had been read and understood his rights and had been offered the chance to call a lawyer – if he was the killer, there was no damned way he’d get off on a technicality because of sloppy police work.

“Tell us what happened that night Kayl,” Kono whispered with quiet menace. “Tell us the truth and we’ll do everything we can to help you. We’ll talk to the Prosecuting Attorney and see about getting you a reduced sentence. Maybe you’ll be out of prison before you’re old and grey.”

Kayl sniffled and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

“I don’t…I can’t...”

“Kayl,” Kono repeated his name in a sing-song tone, her voice deceptively soft. “I’m trying to help you here. I personally don’t think you had anything to do with the murder but you know something about it and you need to tell me what that is.”

Chin pushed himself up out of his chair and stalked over to the young Hawaiian man and began circling him like a shark.

“I think he had something to do with the murder. I think he planned and carried out the whole thing. I think he enjoyed bashing that beautiful girl’s brains in and I think if we dig around in the open case files, we can find a few other murders we could pin on him.

“No!” yelled the now-terrified young man. “I didn’t kill her. I didn’t. It wasn’t me.”

“Then who was it?” Kono suddenly shouted in the young man’s ear. “Tell us who it was. Save yourself. Help us before it’s too late for you and you end up in a cell with a guy who calls you Cindy and finds another use for that pouty little mouth of yours.”

Kayl burst into tears at that moment snuffling loudly and hiccupping between sobs.

“You don’t understand,” the boy wailed loudly. “He was trying to help me, trying to teach me to be a stronger man. I’m weak and he wants to make me better.” 

“Who?” demanded Kono loudly as she leaned into his left side, her face inches from his while Chin leaned into his right. “Your father? Is that who you’re talking about?”

Kayl nodded miserably and wiped a hand over his wet eyes.

“It was an accident,” the young man choked out between sobs. “It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. He just wanted to get back at her and that meddling cop.”

“Start from the beginning Kayl,” Chin barked into the boy’s right ear. “Tell us exactly what went down or so help me god I’ll make sure you’re locked in the deepest darkest hole in Halawa.”

**********

Steve jerked awake at the sound of someone entering Danny’s hospital room. He stood up from the chair he’d been sprawled in ignoring the twinge in his neck where his head had been bent at an awkward angle as he napped.

One of the Halawa guards sat dozing in a chair in the corner of the room as Dr. Alvarez moved to Danny’s side and began taking vitals and reading the monitors providing Danny’s pulse, blood pressure and oxygen levels. The young doctor had visited Danny every hour since he’d been admitted to ICU and seemed to grow more hopeful each time. Steve waited impatiently as the doctor finished her examination before daring to ask the question.

“Well doc? Is he getting better?”

Alvarez looked up at the SEAL and nodded with a smile.

“He is. I’m very pleased with his progress. He’s not entirely out of the woods and he’s going to need a few more dialysis treatments but he’s definitely turned a corner.”

Steve felt his knees go weak in relief at her words and he had to sit down for a moment until he could collect himself.

“In fact,” the doctor continued. “I think we can take him off the respirator.”

Steve couldn’t help the bright grin that spread across his face as he climbed back to his feet and grabbed Danny’s hand giving it a firm squeeze.

“You hear that, Danno?” he whispered to the still unconscious man, “You’re going to be alright. Doc says you’re going to be just fine.”

Alvarez glanced over from where she was fiddling with Danny’s IV to smile at Steve kindly.

“He’s lucky he has you. I don’t know many couples who are as devoted to each other as you obviously are.”

Steve opened his mouth to correct the doctor and then thought better of it. Maybe he and Danny weren’t technically a couple but they were devoted to each other – or at least they had been until the morning after that fateful night on the beach when Steve had casually thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“We’re both lucky,” Steve responded quietly lifting Danny’s hand and holding it against his abdomen.

*********

“He-he came home late on Thursday night and came to my room and told me to get dressed and get in his car. I did what he said ‘cause I could see he was in one of his moods.”

Kayl swallowed roughly and combed shaking fingers through his hair.

“I got in the car and we drove for a while and ended up in the back of this apartment building. I asked him what we were doing there and he told me to shut up. We got out of the car and he popped the trunk and…and Lizzie was in the trunk looking like she’d passed out or something. Pop made me pick her up and carry her into the building…”

“How did you get into the building?” Kono asked for the benefit of the video cameras recording the interview.

“Pop had a key. I don’t know where he got it and I didn’t ask,” continued Kayl.

“Keep going,” demanded Chin as he sat down in a wooden chair in front of the boy.

“He made me carry her up three flights of stairs until we came to this apartment. Pop had a key for it too and when we got in, Pop told me to put Lizzie on the floor in the living room.”

“Then what?” snapped Kono as she pulled up a chair to sit directly to the side of the boy, 

“He-he wanted me to…” Kayl released a sob and put his hands over his face.

“Wanted you to what?” barked Chin not wanting to let up on the boy in case the kid fell apart and became useless to them.

The young man sat sobbing and sniffling in the chair until Kono leaned closer, mouth inches from his face.

“Kayl! What did your father want you to do?” she growled into his ear.

“He wanted me to r-r-rape her!” the boy wailed loudly breaking into equally loud sobs. The two 5-0 officers glanced at each other, nodded imperceptibly and sat back in their chairs. They’d passed a kind of interrogational Rubicon and the young man was well within their control now. They would allow him to calm himself for a moment before they carried on.

After a few moments Kono reached over to the nearby table and grabbed the glass of water that Kayl had been provided earlier. She held it in front of him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Here Kayl, have a drink it will make you feel better.”

The boy dropped his hands from his face and reached with shaking hands for the water glass gulping it desperately. When he was finished, Kono took the glass away and smiled at him warmly trying to make her face convey a kindness towards him that she didn’t feel.

“Tell us the rest Kayl,” she encouraged gently. “I promise it will make you feel better.”

“Did you rape her?” demanded Chin taking on the bad cop role easily. He knew Elizabeth had not been sexually assaulted but he needed Kayl to provide the information.

The young man now shook his head miserably.

“I-I couldn’t…” he blushed and glanced at Kono in embarrassment before leaning confidingly towards Chin. “I couldn’t…you know…”

“Get it up,” the Lieutenant offered blandly.

Kayl swallowed heavily and glanced in humiliation at Kono who offered him an encouraging smile.

“That’s a good thing Kayl,” she lied to him confidingly. “It means you’re basically a good person caught in a terrible situation. It’s a good thing that you didn’t want to rape Elizabeth.”

Kayl smiled slightly and sat back in his chair in a more relaxed pose. He wouldn’t bother telling them that he couldn’t get it up because his father was watching. If Pop hadn’t been around…

“So what happened after that Kayl?” Kono questioned as if she and the young man were now close friends. “Your father must have been very upset.”

The smile faded from the boy’s face and he dropped his eyes to his lap.

“He was. He-he said I was a coward – a faggot. Said I embarrassed him and he was ashamed of me. He said he’d spent weeks setting this up to give me a golden opportunity to make the bitch pay for humiliating me but I was too much of a pansy to take advantage of it.”

Kayl looked up at Kono with pleading eyes as if needing her to understand his pain. She mustered a sickly smile for him as she swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat.

“What happened then?” she encouraged, her voice raspy.

Kayl shrugged and looked over at Chin, obviously more comfortable discussing the next part with another man.

“My Pop he, he began unzipping his fly. Said he would show me how a real man does it. Then Lizzie…I heard her moan. She began coming around. She started pushing herself up off the carpeting and…I think she saw Pop. She would have been able to identify him. I had to protect him don’t you see?”

“What did you do Kayl?” Chin demanded in a no-nonsense voice that made Kayl shrink back slightly.

“I had to protect him…” he almost mewled.

“What did you do Kayl!” Kono demanded, all signs of the kind, understanding friend gone.

“I grabbed this thing that was hanging on the wall. It was some kind of club and I hit her with it. She kept making noises so I hit her again and again. I can’t…everything went kind of red or something and suddenly my Pop was pulling me off her and she was…there was so much blood.”

Kayl looked up at Chin then over at Kono, his eyes brimming with tears.

“I had to protect my Pop,” he whispered, his voice tinged with desperation. “He’s done everything for me. Tried to make me a better man and I’ve failed him don’t you see?”

“Kayl,” Chin’s voice was low and rough as he spoke to the other man. “Did your father ever tell you why he took you to that specific apartment? Did you know who it belonged to?”

The young man nodded firmly.

“Yeah, I asked him that as we drove home. He said it was the apartment of that cop that came and talked to me about Lizzie – Detective Williams. He said they would find Lizzie dead and think he did it. Pop was laughing when he told me that.”

“Laughing?” Kono asked in a strangled voice.

Kayl shrugged.

“He said he’d been watching Detective Williams for a while to get his schedule and he knew for a fact that Detective Williams was a fag. He had some guy he’d been seeing and spending the night with. Pop said it would be funny if Williams went to prison for killing a girl when all he really wanted were guys.”

Kono stood up abruptly and loomed over Kayl, her chest heaving as she all but panted in rage. The young man stared up at her for a moment blinking worriedly as if unclear as to why she was suddenly angry.

Slowly the female officer gained control of herself and sat back quietly in her seat.

“Why? Why did he want to frame Dan-Detective Williams?”

Kayl shrugged again and began picking at a loose thread on his pants.

“Said Williams had to pay for humiliating me – for embarrassing our family.”

Chin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and shook his head. A young woman dead and Danny’s life almost destroyed all because Elizabeth had told this little creep that she didn’t want to date him. The Hawaiian detective opened his eyes again and glared at Kayl.

“How did your father get the keys to Detective Williams’ apartment?”

Kayl looked up at him and shook his head.

“I don’t know, probably paid someone to make them. Pop can get anything he wants. He’s really smart.” Kayle looked over at Kono with a slight smile. “I’m hungry. Can I have something to eat?”

**********

Steve heard a shifting sound from the bed and left his spot by the window to hurry over to be there when Danny opened his eyes. The detective was still in ICU but had been removed from the respirator and his condition had been upgraded from critical to serious.

The blonde man slowly blinked his eyes open and took a moment to focus on the smiling face of his partner.

“Stee...”

Steve grinned happily and cupped one side of Danny’s face with his palm.

“Hey babe, welcome back. You’re in the hospital but you’re going to be just fine. Everything is going to be just fine.”

Danny licked his dry lips.

“Water.”

Steve reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the cup of ice chips and began feeding them to his grateful partner.

“Just a few ok? You’re stomach’s still pretty raw.”

Danny swallowed down the water from the last of the chips and sighed in relief. He kept his eyes closed so long Steve thought he’d gone back to sleep but then the bright blue gaze was fixed on him again.

“What happened?”

Steve put down the cup he was holding and took one of Danny’s hands in his.

“You were poisoned babe. It looks like one of the prisoners poured some Ethylene Glycol in your food.”

Danny furrowed his brow as he tried to recall the event. Finally he nodded. 

“Tasted sweet. Too sweet but I was hungry.”

Steve squeezed his hand again.

“Fortunately one of the guards realized something was wrong and they brought you here. The doc says you’re going to be fine – no long-term damage from the poisoning.”

“How long will I be in here?”

“Probably a week or so,” the Commander responded. “You’re going to need a couple more rounds of dialysis to make sure the Ethylene Glycol is out of your system.”

Danny sighed and pressed his lips together and looked away from Steve.

“Then back to prison.”

Steve smiled slowly and put a finger on Danny’s chin to turn the blond man’s head until their eyes met.

“No. Then back to my place to recuperate.”

“But…”

“Kono and Chin solved the case. Kayl Alani and his father kidnapped Elizabeth and murdered her in your apartment to set you up. Kayl confessed last night and Detective Kalikea and HPD arrested Pele Alani this morning.”

Danny stared up at Steve, his eyes wide and brimming with tears.

“It’s…it’s over?” he whispered tremulously.

Steve grinned wider and nodded.

“And to put icing on the cake, Colonel Dyson is on his way back from Washington as we speak to alibi you.”

Danny blinked several times causing a tear to escape from the corner of one eye and roll down his face to drop to the pillow below.

“He was in Washington?”

Steve nodded and looked away briefly, his jaw clenched in anger.

“Yeah, that’s why he didn’t come forward although he knew all along what was going on and could have picked up a fucking phone,” the SEAL spat out the words.

Danny squeezed Steve’s hand and the Commander looked back at his partner.

“You don’t need his statement now. Let him off the hook ok?”

“Danny what the fuck...?”

“Steve. I don’t want him to be dragged out of the closet if he’s not ready for it. Let him go.”

**********

Steve had to admit it; Colonel Howard Dyson was an impressive and attractive man. The tall, tanned man with salt and pepper hair and bright green eyes appeared to be in his early 50’s but had the muscled, well cared for body of a man 20 years younger. He cut an imposing figure in his dress uniform as he stood at parade rest in the middle of Steve’s office. 

“Colonel,” Steve greeted the man with a cold nod of the head.

“Lieutenant Commander McGarrett,” Dyson responded without offering his hand. “You ordered me to be here and here I am. I must admit I don’t usually take orders from men that I outrank.”

Steve dropped wearily into the chair behind his desk and gestured vaguely for Dyson to sit as well.

“I may be a Lieutenant Commander in the Reserves Colonel, but as a civilian I am the head of the Governor’s task force and as such, I outrank everyone when a crime has been committed.”

The Colonel raised one eyebrow at Steve and made as if to argue before obviously rethinking the idea. He shifted nervously on the chair, spinning his hat unconsciously between his fingers.

“I want you to know Commander that I would never have turned my back on Danny. I would have come forward as soon as I returned to Honolulu. Maybe I should have called or something but…well Danny’s always talking about 5-0 and its amazing solve rate so I thought everything would probably be cleared up by the time I got home.”

Steve stared at the man in mute anger for a moment.

“You were content to leave Danny hanging out to dry until it was convenient for you to fly back to Hawaii, is that what you’re saying?”

Dyson cleared his throat and rubbed his thumb over a non-existent mark on the brim of his cap.

“I’m not saying that at all. I would never have let Danny go to prison. I would have come forward even at the cost of my future – that’s how much I care about him.”

Steve snorted in disgust.

“Oh yes I can see how much you care about Danny. You care so much you tell him to keep your relationship hidden then when he gets in trouble – trouble that you could easily clear up for him – you stay cowering in Washington hoping that all the messiness will be go away before you get home just so you don’t have to tell your superiors you’re gay and maybe ruin your chances to be the President’s personal physician.

Dyson flushed angrily at that.

“How dare you Lt. Commander? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”

Steve leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk.

“I know exactly who I’m talking to Colonel – a coward. Someone who hasn’t got the courage to be who he is and will hurt someone he claims to care about just to preserve his secret.”

Dyson tipped back his head and laughed bitterly at that before looking back at Steve and shaking his head at the Navy SEAL.

“That’s rich Commander. You dare to talk to me about being a coward? If anyone’s a coward in this situation it’s you.”

Steve stiffened immediately and glared at the Colonel.

“What are you talking about?” Steve demanded.

“I’m talking about you hiding your feelings from Danny – making him believe you don’t love him when you obviously do.”

Steve felt the colour drain from his face and he sputtered for a moment.

“I don’t…what are you…?”

“I saw you together when you were in Tripler, Commander,” Dyson continued. “I saw the way you looked at him; the way you touched him so often. You’re in love with him but you don’t have the courage to admit it. Maybe I’m a coward for not openly admitting who I am but at least I’m not afraid to be with Danny. I love him and if I thought there was any hope that he would love me back I’d shout it to the world. But that will never happen because he’s too much in love with you.”

“He’s not…” Steve’s protested weakly.

“He is,” Dyson retorted angrily. “I know god damned well he is. Jesus I’ve heard him moaning your name in his sleep.” The Colonel shook his head in disgust and jammed his hat back on his head and stood up. 

“I’m not going to argue this with you any more, Commander. I’ll make whatever statement you want confirming Danny was with me on Thursday night and then I’d like to get out of here. I’m a busy man.”

Steve stared up at the man for a long moment.

“No statement will be necessary Colonel. We’ve arrested the people who committed the murder and the charges against Danny will be dropped this afternoon.”

Dyson closed his eyes and Steve watched relief flood across his face. The officer blinked his eyes open and looked again at Steve.

“Are you sure? If a statement will help I’ll make it.”

Steve shook his head.

“No statement. You’re free to go.”

Dyson pulled himself up straight and adjusted his hat before nodding curtly at Steve.

“Good. Tell Danny…”

Steve climbed slowly to his feet and glared at the Colonel.

“I’m not telling Danny anything and neither are you. I want you to stay away from him from now on.”

Dyson smirked at the SEAL.

“Really? And what exactly gives you the right to decide what happens to Danny?”

Steve came slowly around the desk and stopped inches in front of Dyson.

“I’m the man who loves him,” Steve replied quietly. “And I’m the one he’s going to be with from now on. Now get out of my office.”

**********

Steve had been 10 minutes staring darkly out of Danny’s hospital room window and the silence was driving the blond detective mad. Aside from a greeting and a brief update on Steve’s talk with Howard Dyson, the SEAL had said virtually nothing during his evening visit. Danny sighed in annoyance.

“I’m trying to decide if I should put Christmas lights on you and at least make you useful,” Danny grumbled shaking his head in exasperation at the taciturn man.

Steve stood unmoving then jerked back into awareness when he realized Danny had spoken.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Danny replied with a wave of the hand, “Instead of standing there burning death rays out the window, why don’t you tell me what’s going on in your head?”

Steve licked his lips nervously and shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing’s going on in your head?” Danny couldn’t resist. “I always figured there were at least explosions or you were contemplating new torture techniques.”

Steve scrunched up his face in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

Danny beckoned to the taller man then patted the bed beside him.

“Will you come over here please and sit down. It hurts my neck to keep craning it to look over at you.”

With only slight reluctance, Steve wandered over to the bed and perched down on the edge of it. Danny reached out and laid a warm hand on Steve’s bicep.

“Babe,” he began gently. “Something’s bothering you. Tell me what it is. Please.”

Steve swallowed heavily and dropped his eyes to the mattress when he realized with a shock that he was close to tears.

“I just…” his voice broke and he cleared it. “I almost lost you,” he whispered.

A small smile flitted over Danny’s face.

“But you didn’t. I’m right here. There won’t be any long-term effects from the poisoning and you, Chin and Kono got me out of jail. I’m right here babe.”

Steve drew in a shaky breath and raised his eyes back up to Danny’s face. 

“I don’t want to lose you again Danny. I don’t want us to be apart again but…I’m scared.”

Danny’s heart stuttered in his chest at that admission. It had taken Steve two years to learn to admit when he was in pain after being injured. He didn’t think the SEAL would ever admit to being scared.

“Why? What are you scared about?”

Steve drew his bottom lip between his teeth and chewed on it for a moment while he formulated his answer.

“I’m scared because…because I love you.”

Danny couldn’t stop the bright smile that spread across his face at those words.

“You do?”

Steve nodded and Danny cocked his head and knit his eyebrows together in confusion.

“But…why is that scary?”

The Commander stood up suddenly and began pacing the room running his hand nervously through his hair.

“Because Danny. Because I’m a SEAL and the head of 5-0 and I can’t…”

“What? You can’t what?”

“I can’t be weak don’t you see? I can’t let myself get soft or content or I won’t be effective any longer. I feel like if I let myself love you – make a life with you – I’ll lose my edge. I’ll no longer be effective to 5-0 or to the Navy.”

Danny watched speechless as his partner paced back and forth at the foot of his bed.

“Wait a minute,” the blond man finally spoke up pulling himself higher up the bed and shoving pillows behind himself so he could sit comfortably. “Let me get this straight. Are you saying you can’t love me because you’ll become weak?”

Steve stopped pacing and glanced over at Danny with a flush rising on his cheeks, his hands dangling limply at his sides.

“It’s…well when you say it out loud like that it sounds kind of dumb but...”

Danny’s hands were flailing madly by now.

“No, no Steven. Out loud or inside my head it sounds dumb. Probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Steve’s face twisted into a grimace and he turned away from Danny.

“Thanks a lot Danny.”

“Steven!” the blond man barked in annoyance. “I know your head is a scary, fucked up place most of the time but even you, a super SEAL, can’t truly believe that being in love is bad for you or will somehow ruin you.”

Steve kept his back to Danny but the smaller man saw him shrug slightly. Danny sighed in exasperation.

“Steve,” he continued softly. “Come here please.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Steve turned around and walked over to sit down beside Danny on the bed again, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

“Babe,” Danny paused as he considered what to say. “I don’t want to sound like a fucking Hallmark card but love doesn’t make you weak, it makes you stronger.”

Steve couldn’t help but smirk at that.

“Are we in a Lifetime movie now Danno?”

The blond man reached out and slapped his partner on the arm lightly.

“Shut up I’m trying to say something profound here and if I were you, I wouldn’t admit to watching Lifetime.”

Steve slowly raised his eyes to meet Danny’s

“So what are you trying to say?” he asked quietly.

Danny lifted a hand to cup Steve’s face.

“I’m trying to say that the two of us loving each other won’t ruin our lives. It won’t make us weak or soft, it will make us stronger because we’ll be together and we’ll face things together. I’m not saying it’s going to be rosy all the time or that there won’t be times we’ll need to lean on each other but…we’ve always been better together. We’ve a made an awesome partnership at work. Why would that be any different at home?”

Steve considered that for a moment then nodded slightly.

“I guess that makes sense.”

Danny gazed at Steve searchingly for a moment.

“Do you love me?” he asked shyly. “Do you want me?”

Steve’s eyes grew soft as he met Danny’s eyes. 

“Yeah,” he whispered his voice hoarse with emotion. “Yes I love you. Yes I want you.”

“Then stop being such a fucking coward McGarrett and kiss me. Jesus you’d think the army hadn’t taught you anything about aggressive manoeuvres…”

Whatever further snide comments Danny had on the tip of his tongue were kissed away by Steve’s lips as the SEAL attacked the blond man’s mouth with his own. After spending some time kissing his boyfriend stupid, Steve pulled off and gave his lover a mock frown.

“Just one more thing we need to clear up Danny. From now on the only military man you’re going to fuck is me. Is that understood?”

Danny smiled brightly as tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of Steve’s neck.

“Aye, aye, Commander.”


End file.
